Venetian text in the Russian literature of the 20th century

The author reviews the poems by Osip Mandelstam and Joseph Brodsky which are united by the Venetian context. Based on the existing cultural myths about Venice, both poets continue to perceive them as an integral part of European culture. The article offers the analysis of those poems which reveal a system of repeating motives with the image-concept of Venice in the center. In “Venetian Life” by Osip Mandelstam the idea of the eternal existence of this city is persistently carried out. This idea is also embodied in the poems by Joseph Brodsky “Lagoon” and “From Nowhere with Love”, where the motive of light, typical for Mandelstam’s poetry, is highlighted. In the essay “Embankment of the Incurable”, this motive is combined with the one of the mirror, as well as the motive of the animality. The image-concept of Venice is endowed with the features of the original element, and “the city of fish” becomes the embodiment of the underwater kingdom. The system of motives corresponds to the idea of the eternal resurrection of the city and gives the image of Venice a deeply individual look of eternal beauty.